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Robert Rockwell
Robert Rockwell
	Rockwell circa 1959
Born	October 15, 1920; Lake Bluff, Illinois, U.S.
Died	January 25, 2003 (aged 82); Malibu, California, U.S.
Other names	Rocky Rockwell
Alma mater	Pasadena Playhouse College of Theatre Arts (MFA)
Years active	1948–1995
Spouse	Elizabeth Anne Weiss (m. 1942⁠–⁠2003)
Children	5

Robert Rockwell (October 15, 1920 – January 25, 2003) was an American stage, film, radio and television actor. He is best known for playing the handsome, but awkward biology teacher Philip Boynton in the radio and television sitcom Our Miss Brooks opposite Eve Arden.

Career

A native of Lake Bluff, Illinois^[2] Rockwell studied at the Pasadena Playhouse College of Theatre Arts, from which he obtained a master's degree.^[3] During World War II he enlisted in the US Navy for four years serving in Washington D.C.^[4] After beginning his career as a contract player for Republic Studios he appeared, over his almost 50-year acting career, in more than 350 television episodes and, on stage, opposite José Ferrer in the 1946 Broadway production of Cyrano de Bergerac, and with Ginger Rogers during the 1960s in a San Diego production of Whitfield Cook's play A More Perfect Union. He appeared (uncredited) in the first Superman television show episode as Clark Kent's father, Jor-El in 1952. He appeared in The Millionaire in the 1958 episode "Millionaire Lee Randolph" as the title character. The following year, he performed as Mr. Philips in the Gunsmoke episode “Renegade White”, and as Dick Benedict in the Perry Mason episode "The case of the Deadly Toy" as the love interest of the defendant Claire Allison. He starred in the 1961 Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Misguided Missile" as an Air Force officer court-martialled on a murder charge. He later starred in the 1962 Perry Mason episodes "The Case of the Lurid Letter" as murderer Everett Rixby, a high school principal, and the murderer Cole B. Troy in "The Case of the Shapely Shadow". He also appeared as Ed Purvis in the 1965 episode Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Candy Queen".

Rockwell starred in his own ABC western-themed television series, The Man from Blackhawk in the 1959-1960 season. Rockwell was cast as the Blackhawk Insurance Company's key investigator, Sam Logan, who is assigned to weed out fraud in the payment of claims.^[5]^: 650 He also played Sam Thompson in Thompson's Ghost,^[5]^: 1075 Tom Bennett in The Bill Cosby Show^[5]^: 106 and Officer Russo in Adam-12.^[5]

In 1967, he played a littering tourist in the Lassie episode "Lassie's Litter Bit", an iconic episode which earned a trip for Lassie to the White House to shake hands with then First Lady "Ladybird" Johnson who had used the famous collie in her Keep America Beautiful Campaign.^[6]

Rockwell was a founding member of the California Artists Radio Theatre. He played standard leads in a couple of anti-Communist-era features, including Republic's The Red Menace (1949) in which he was cast as a returning veteran of World War II who is duped by communists.^[7]

Later in his career, he appeared on episodes of Petticoat Junction (1970, episode: "Spare That Cottage", as Norbert Thompson), Growing Pains (1988–1990) and Beverly Hills, 90210 (1993). In 1981, he appeared as Uncle Henry on the Benson episode "Marcy's Wedding". Oscar Babcock in a season 2 episode of Mama’s Family: Mama buys a car.

His appearances in commercials and voiceovers totaled more than 200, most notably as the armchair grandfather treating his grandson to a piece of candy in the 1995 version of the Werthers Original candy spot.^[3]

Death

On January 25, 2003, Rockwell died of cancer at his home in Malibu at the age of 82. He and his wife, Elizabeth Anne (née Weiss), to whom he had been married since 1942, had five children.^[8]^[1]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1948	You Gotta Stay Happy	Eddie
1949	The Red Menace	Bill Jones
1949	Task Force	Lt. Kelly	Uncredited
1949	Alias the Champ	Police Lt. Ron Peterson
1950	The Blonde Bandit	Dist. Atty. James Deveron
1950	Unmasked	Detective Lt. James 'Jim' Webster
1950	Singing Guns	Townsman	Uncredited
1950	Belle of Old Mexico	Kip Armitage III
1950	Federal Agent at Large	Dr. Ross Carrington
1950	Women from Headquarters	Gates
1950	Destination Big House	Dr. Walter Phillips
1950	Trial Without Jury	Police Lt. Bill Peters
1950	Lonely Heart Bandits	Police Lt. Carroll
1950	Prisoners in Petticoats	Mark Hampton
1951	Call Me Mister	1st Sergeant	Uncredited
1951	The Frogmen	Lt. Bill Doyle
1951	The Prince Who Was a Thief	Bogo	Uncredited
1951	Week-End with Father	Ranger Kennedy	Uncredited
1952	Just for You	John Ransome
1952	The Turning Point	Reporter	Uncredited
1952	Ellis in Freedomland	Ellis Homan
1953	The War of the Worlds	Forest Ranger at Crash Site	Uncredited
1956	Our Miss Brooks	Phil Boynton
1965	A Letter to Nancy	Pastor
1968	Sol Madrid	Chief Danvers
1995	Perfect Alibi	Jonah Kringle	(final film role)